Sign our petition to axe ACPO hypocrite

Police proposals to ban motorcycles were written under the direction of a three-time convicted speeder – and MCN aims to get the hypocrite axed.  

We’re petitioning the Prime Minister to place all possible pressure on the Association of Chief Police Officers to relieve South Yorkshire chief constable Meredydd Hughes of all road policing duties once and for all.

• Sign the petition here

Hughes was last year banned from driving for reaching 90mph in a 60mph zone, his third speeding offence. As the case emerged, ACPO announced he was to step down as ‘head of road policing, business area’, his official title as Britain’s most senior traffic cop.

Yet incredibly, he effectively continues to perform the same duties – he’s now ACPO’s ‘head of business area for uniformed operations including road policing’.

An ACPO spokesman let slip that Hughes had “overall” responsibility for the department which wrote a policy recommendation to MPs asking them to consider whether motorcycles belonged on the roads.

The recommendation stated: ‘Production machines are readily available for use on our roads with top speeds in excess of 200mph. Motorcycles are seen in the UK to be, in the majority of instances, vehicles of choice rather than necessity and one might consider if our congested roads are any longer fit for purpose for these motorised toys.’

ACPO has already suffered major embarrassment over the memo. Following pressure from MCN, the association wrote again to MPs in to the commons transport committee admitting it had made claims which were untrue.

The revelation that Hughes still has responsibility for road policing should cause further embarrassment for the association as it suggests his stepping-down was just a smoke-and-mirrors face-saving exercise.

Hughes was accused by critics of “mind-numbing hypocrisy” after his latest speeding conviction. He had taken a hard line on speeding since his appointment as ACPO’s road policing head in 2005. Despite coming into the position with six points on his licence from two speeding offences, he’d called for more cameras.

In an interview with MCN not long after he got the job, Hughes tried to turn his driving convictions to his advantage, painting himself as a “habitual speeder” reformed thanks to cameras. He claimed: “It was a habit of speed and carelessness that I got away with for 27 years. I got caught twice by cameras and I changed the way that I drive.” 

• Sign the petition here

In 2006 he created a special legal team to scare people out of contesting speeding charges, saying: “Come and get us if you think you’re hard enough.” MCN later revealed the team was a private company of which Hughes was director. Companies House records show he still is.

Our petition tells the PM: ‘A three-time convicted speeder with responsibility for road policing at this level undermines any Government road safety message with regard to speeding. All possible pressure should therefore be placed on ACPO to relieve Mr Hughes of all road policing duties.’

Sign it now here